Far from the knowing, ambitious rock frontman he was in the early days of Blur, Albarn has revealed himself to be one of British music's most ­invigorating renaissance men. As well as his ­involvement in Gorillaz and the Good, the Bad and the Queen, the Honest Jon's label he co-founded has brought African, Caribbean and obscure black ­American music to young, hip ­audiences, and his experiments in opera are helping dismantle the barriers between "high" and "low" art.